Community Corner
What Do You Do With a Picky Eater?
Swampscott mom take on this dinner table quandary.
The mom question for this week came from Swampscott mom Mindy Hanlon.
We are sure many parents have wrestled with this question.
Mindy:
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Do any of the moms have any tips for dealing with picky eaters?
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Heidi McCoy:
Of my three kids, I have been blessed to have two picky eaters. One is so extreme that she only eats about a dozen foods and actually opts to go hungry if eating something she dislikes is her only option.
The advice from the pediatric nutritionist was simple: as long as the kid will eat at least one protein, one vegetable and one fruit, don't worry. Their diet may be bland and boring, but it's sufficient.
Make sure to supplement with lots of milk and a good children's vitamin and they'll get along fine.
But, if you want to try and entice them to eat, for kids of all ages, presentation is everything. Make it look fun, and you've got a better shot at getting them to actually eat it.
Use cookie cutters, playdoh cutters or a knife to create a variety of shapes. Lunchmeats and cheeses can easily become circles, triangles or hearts.
You can easily turn chicken or burgers into dolphins, dinosaurs or even letters. Put a few drops of food coloring into mayonnaise to make sandwiches fun and interesting.
For the very young - who just have to hear a new food and decide they don't like it - find something they do like and preface everything with it. For example, the only protein my picky eaters liked was chicken.
So, when they were young, beef became chicken-beef. They also ate chicken-fish, chicken-turkey and chicken-shrimp.
It sounds crazy, but just hearing the familiar, likable food was enough to at least get them to try it.
Amy Sessler Powell:
I think adults need to model the sort of eating they expect from children so families should dine together as much as possible and eat the same foods.
I think once parents go down the short order cook road, it will be hard to return.
Thanks, Moms
What do you people think?
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